Lttbricatob foe



J. P. KELLY.

LUBRICATOR FOR AIR COMPBESSORS.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 20, 1919.

1,."512,33O. Patented Aug. 5, 1919.

' FiG;l

G I Y 22 UN D TATES JOHN P. KELLY, 0F PITTSFIELD, v

LUBRICATOB ron. AIB=COMPBE$OR$ Specification of Letters Patent.

P ten e Au 1919- Application filed January 20, 1919. Serial N 0.272,004.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN P. KELLY, a citizen of the United States, and aresident of Pittsfield, in the county of'Berkshire and State ofMassachusetts, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement inLubricators for Air-Compressors, of which improvement the following is aspecification.

This invention relates to lubricators, and more particularly tolubricators for air pump cylinders.

In devices of this character, as heretofore used, difficulty has beenexperienced in obtaining a uniformity in the feed of oilunder thevarying conditions in actual service, due principally to the greatchanges in temperature to which the oil is subjected' The object of myinvention is to obtain a more uniform and certain feed of the oilthrough the feed passages to the pump cylinders, and forthis purpose Iprovide means for agitating the oil and maintaining the same in a thinfluid condition, regardless of vari-. ations in temperature and otherconditions. Another feature of my improvement comprises reciprocatingmeans operating in the feed passage for controlling the feed of the oil,and according to'another' feature of .my invention, the agitatingmeans'and reciprocating means are. operated automatically by the actionof the pump;

In the accompanying drawing: Figure 1 is a vertical central sectionofone form of lubricator embodying my improvement; Fig. 2 a plan of thepropeller wheel, for rota'ting the shaftofthe agitating mechanism;

:Fig. 3 an inverted horizontal section of said shaft taken on the. line33 of Fig. 1; and, Fig. ,4, a horizontal (section taken in the sameplane.

According to the construction shown, the lubricator comprises a casing,5, having chamber, 6, for containing oil, and provided with a cap, 7,having perforations, 1 8, through which air .may be drawn by the suctionaction of the pump. From the:bot-

tom of the oil chamber a feed passage leads downward into a .conduit, 9,containing a check valve, .10, normally heldclosed by a spring, 11,located in acliamber, 12, from .which the outlet passage, 13, for theoil leads throu h the base of the casing, which is threa ed at 14,forconnection with the a1r cylinder of the pump. While any sultableifgrm of check valve maybe employed, the

valve, 10, is shown as provided with a tubular' guide stem, 24,extending within the feedpassage, 9, and having perforations, 25, forthe passage of air and oil when the valve is opened by the suctionaction of the pump plston. I V

For the purpose of maintaining the oil in the chamber in a thin fluidcondition under variations in temperature, so as to preserve a constantand uniform feed, I provide means for agitating andheatingup'the oil inthe chamber. While any suitable form of agitating mechanism operated-bythe action spindle'is' supported by means of a collar, '22, having afacebearing upon a seat, 21, formed upon the ca'singat thebottom of the oilchamber. The hollow spindle, 15, pr'eferablyoextends through the feedpassage into the outlet conduit, 9, with a more or less loose bearing 1;it,a'nd for the purpose of causing a reciprocating movement of saidspindle in the feed passage, the engaging faces of the seat,2l, and thecollar, 22, may

be made undulating or formed upon a 'sort of a 'sinuous' curve, asindicated, whereby when the spindle is rotated, it will also bereciprocated vertically as the high and low portions of thecurvedsurface on thecollar' "pass over the corresponding curved portionsof the seat. This produces a plunger action for the oil in passingthrough the feed passage."-The upper end of the spindle may be providedwith a suitable bearing in the cap portion, 7. Oil may be introducedinto the chamber, 6, through a suitable filling plug, 26.. i .l

The operation is as follows: -During'the su'ction strokeof the pumppiston the partial' vacuum produced in passage, 13, effects .theopening. of valve, 10, against its spring, f 11, and air is drawn inthrough inlet'ports,

i capto the chamber, 6, abovethe oil,

80 }near the upper end of the spindle, 15. The

and from thence through passages, 19, int disk 20, passage, 18, in thespindle, 15, feed! 16, in the 011 at the bottom of the chamber,

serves to so agltate and beat up the oil that in a thin fluid stateadapted i it is maintained with it the small 17, and cause the ftatlngmechanism in said chamber, said 'mechanlsm being operated by the actionof the pump for agitating the oil.

This rapid rotation of the arms,

ing the cap, 7, and lifting out all of the movable parts together, andreadily assembled n position.

Having now described my invention, what I claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent is 1. In a lubricator for air pumps, thecombination of a casmg having an 011 chamber,

, a feed passageleading therefrom, and agi- 2. In a lubricator for airpumps, the combination of a casing having an oil chamber,

a feed passage leading therefrom, agitating unechanism in said chamber,and means actufor feeding uniformly even when subjected igfated by thesuction of the pump for operatto low degrees of temperature. As thespini fgmg the agitatlng mechanlsm.

dle is rotated it also moves up and downl through the inlet portion ofthe feed passage for the oil, and by this reciprocating movementproduces a sort of plunger actionupon the oil to assist in feeding thesame through the restricted passage around the outer surface of thespindle. In this manner the oil is fed slowly and constantly in a thinfilm down through the passage into conduit, 9, where it is taken up bythe incoming air through passage, 18, and carried into the pumpcylinder. This produces a slow and uniform rate of feed to the oil evenunder varying conditions and temperature.

'At each compression stroke of the pump piston, the pressure actingthrough passage, 13, instantly closes the valve, 10, assisted by thespring, 11, and prevents the compressed air from blowing out through thelubricator.

As the air inlet passage, 18, communicates with the feed conduit, 9, ata point below the restricted feed passage from the oil chamber aroundthe lower end of the spindle, it will be seen that oil in the chamber isrelieved from the suction action of the pump and remains substantiallybalanced as to air pressure. This prevents the oil from feeding toorapidly. The closeness of the fit between the lower end of the spindleand the walls of the feed passage may be made to suit the desiredconditions.

With the form of check valve shown, having the tubular guide stem, 24:,fitting with in the feed passage, 9, and the perforations, 25, at theface of the valve, itwill be seen that the capacity of the passage forthe flow of air may be determined by the number and size of theperforations, and by varying the capacity of the passage through saidperforations relative to the capacity of the passage, 18, through thespindle, the suction effect upon the oil through the feed passage aroundthe end of the spindle may be varied to give the desired amount of feed.

My improved construction alsohas the advantage of being simple andcompact, easily taken apart for cleaning by simply remov- 3. In alubricator for air pumps, the combination of a casing having an oilchamber, a feed passage leading therefrom, a rotatable agitator in saidchamber, a passage for admitting air to said feed passage, and meansactuated by the air drawn into said passage by the suction of the pumpfor operating the agitator.

4c. In a lubricator for air pumps, the combination of a casing having anoil chamber, a feed passage leading therefrom, a rotatable shaft havingprojecting arms in said chamber, and a propeller wheel mounted on saidshaft and operated by the suction of the air pump, 7

5. In a lubricator for air pumps, the combination of a casing having anoil chamber, a feed passage leading therefrom, a hollow spindle providedwith projecting arms and a propeller wheel, thepassage in said spin-.

dle communicating with the feed passage and with the air space in saidoil chamber, and air lnlet ports adjacent to the propeller wheel.

6. In a lubricator for air pumps, the comblnatlon of a casing having anoil chamber,

a feed passage leading therefrom, a check reciprocating said spindle.

8. In a lubricator for air pumps, the combination of a casing having anoil chamber, a feed passage leading therefrom, a passage for admittingair into said feed passage, a spindle extending from the oil chamberinto the feed passage, and means operated by the suction of the air pumpfor reciprocating said spindle.

9. In a lubricator for air pumps, the combination of a casing havlng anoil chamber,

a feed passage leading therefrom, a spindle extending from said chamberinto the feed passage and having projecting arms, and means operated bythesuction of the air pump for rotating and reciprocating said spindle.

10. In a lubricator for air pumps, the combination of a casing having anoil chamber, a feed passage leading'therefrom, a spindle extending fromthe oil chamber into the feed passage and provided With projecting armsand a propeller Wheel, air inlet ports adjacent to said Wheel, and meansoperated by the rotation of the spindle for reciprocating the same.

11. In a lubricator for air pumps, the combination of a casing having anoil chamber, a feed passage leading therefrom, a rotatable spindleextending from the oil chamber into the feed passage and having 'projecting arms, a propeller Wheel and a disk on the upper portion of saidspindle, and anextending from the oil chamber into the feed,

passage and provided With a collar having a curved bearing surface, asupporting seat therefor having a corresponding curved surface, andmeans for rotating said spindle.

13. In a lubricator for air pumps, the com bination of a casing havingan oil chamber,

a feed passage leading therefrom, a check valve having a tubular guidestem mounted with a sliding fit in said feed passage, and

perforations 111 said tubular stem at the face of the valve, and an airinlet passage communicating with the feed passage.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand.

JOHN P. KELLY.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents Washington, D. 0.

